I've observed stability issues and "Invalid cluster nr." errors in certain instances. As it turns out, the problem had to do with neither driver being set a default/valid cluster size. Ideally, the sector size should be set to 512 bytes. I modified the above to account for this...

adjusted NwDsk version number (3.42=>3.40)updated UMBPCI to 3.77adjusted ramdisk:- set ramdisk XMSDSK/SHSURDRV sector size from 0(?) to 512 bytes- replaced XMSDSK with SHSURDRV v1.10replaced unzip.exe with pkunzip.exe (PKWARE 2.50 for DOS) ~20Kb smaller- adjusted autoexec.bat, runapp.bat and unpack.bat to refelct changeadjusted /level3 post-processing- adjusted cd drive detection routine (e.g. no longer dependent on ubcd.ico)- NwDsk settings can now be supplemented via an .INI file- relative path(s) of dosapps no longer dependent on UBCD version*- can now choose to launch CD dosapps as an archive or unpacked as a directory**- launching CD dosapps is no longer dependent on "dosapp" root directory (NwDsk will find it)**adjusted UBCD program handling- automatically finds the program archive/directory regardless of location**- added archive support to include rar,7z and uha in addition to cab and zipadjusted saveset.bat in utilz.cabremoved ranish partition manager (already included on CD)fixed an error in cdrom loader for non-eltorito drives : "_devld not found"replaced stype.exe with more.exe (~18Kb smaller)added mdir.exe (consistent DIR command across FD/DR/MS platforms)fixed other tiny errors

* Feature-ready, but not yet implemented for legacy support**UBCD 5beta only

Development NotesAll previous versions of NwDsk (R series) relied on a rather cumbersome detection routine for determining UBCD version number which, in turn, was used as a requisite in establishing variables and parameters used for post-processing operations (e.g. menu generation, application handling etc). Previously, this was handled using information from the following file:

Two version will be supplied in the download (one for 4.1.1 and the other for 5beta). This can be placed anywhere on the CD and named anything you want provided it retains the *.INI suffix.

"That's nice, but how do I customise the location of my "dosapps" folder?"Good question, chief. In previous builds, this proved almost impossible. For instance, suppose you wanted to relocate your "dosapp" programs from...

Code:

/ubcd/dosapps

to

Code:

/dos

NwDsk would return errors complaining about not being able to find the program folder. So, there are now 2 methods one can use to set the default program path...

The feature is available (UBCD4.11 and UBCD 5) but not activated by default (Victor is working on formalising the format for the next UBCD release). If you intend to use, it, simply populate the INI file with the dosapp programs in question and place it anywhere in the ISO.

There's other aspects that have been significantly improved but I'd like to finish this release before outlining their function.

Since R1.32 now supports fully customisable paths for "dosapps" (either via NwDsk or an *.INI file), I added a few lines to ubcd.bat to dynamically locate the dosapps folder if any of these paths aren't found.

The next release should be following shortly (alongside native MS-DOS support). I've also been experimenting with an Ext2/Ext3/NTFS driver by Paragon (IFS for DOS). Below are some of the results...

Memory usage statistics of IFS driver (requires HX DOS-Extender)

Ext3 file system support (Ubuntu volume)

NTFS support (Vista volume)

LongFileName support is included (doesn't require DOSLFN) and the memory footprint is tiny (~40Kb in total). It works natively in MS-DOS environments (6.22 and 7.10) but requires 4DOS in order to use with FreeDOS (FreeCOM doesn't seem to agree with it when running DIR commands). I haven't had a chance to test it with (E)DR-DOS yet.

_________________"If you think things can't get any worse it's probably because you lack sufficient imagination."

rem For Grub4dos floppy emulation, we need to get the ubcdcmd parameter from setargs.batset ubcdcmd=0call setargs.batif not "%ubcdcmd%"=="0" goto _argssetset ubcdcmd=

if not exist %ramdrv%\bin\getargs.* goto _ngetargsgetargs >nulif errorlevel 3 if not errorlevel 4 set _memdisk=3if errorlevel 2 if not errorlevel 3 set _memdisk=2if errorlevel 1 if not errorlevel 2 set _memdisk=1

:_ngetargsif "%_memdisk%"=="" goto _nmemdskecho AUTOEXEC: MEMDISK(%_memdisk%)getargs M >nulif errorlevel 52 if not errorlevel 53 set _linux=4if errorlevel 51 if not errorlevel 52 set _linux=3if errorlevel 50 if not errorlevel 51 set _linux=2if errorlevel 49 if not errorlevel 50 set _linux=1

tell grub4dos to emulate a floppy drive (= fd0) and emulate the freedos image in it + copy the image to ram (--mem)

map --hook:

after this command the mapping defined in the previous commands is executed.

write --offset=15 (fd0)/bin/setargs.bat ubcdcmd=bios\r\n:

Use the write command of grub4dos to write to a existing file in a memory mapped image.Start writing the string 'ubcdcmd=bios\r\n' at offset 15 (offset 0 is the beginning of the file). This will skip the following text in setargs.bat (\r\n are symbols for the 'cariage return' and the 'newline' character, which determine the end of a line in dos) (without the quotes).

Code:

'@echo off\r\nset '

So own write command overwrites 'ubcdcmd=0\r\n in setargs.bat. The '\r\n' is important to add at the end, else the ubcdcmd parameter will be set to:

Code:

'bios '

This will result in an error at the end of the boot process, because the freedos image will search for the filename:

Thanks go especially to the following members of the boot-land.net forums:
- tinybit (developer of grub4dos) for implementing the new write function in grub4dos
- caze for giving the modifications needed in autoexec.bat on which my modifications in autoexec.bat are based.
http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=6119&view=findpost&p=56416- all others like jaclaz (wrote some batch files) which brainstormed with me, finding a way to get the ubcdcmd parameter passed to a grub4dos memory mapped image.

All the dosapps plus the Distro FreeDOS R1.33 could be within one single image.

This would have the additional benefit that if you use UBCD on USB that settings could be stored permanently inside the image. (Only the --mem switch would need to be removed in grub4dos menu entry from the map command.)

I found a free DOS USB driver package, which is open source and which is very recent (July 1, 2009).
http://bretjohnson.us/

Quote:

DOS USB Drivers (New as of July 1, 2009)

THIS downloads a zip file containing the complete set of DOS USB drivers (542 kB).

The files are current as of June 30, 2009. The programs are all still in a testing phase (alpha/beta), so do not yet include complete documentation. Read the included USBINTRO.DOC file for documentation and information on how to use the programs.

The zip file contains more than 20 different programs, and includes drivers for keyboards, mice, joysticks, printers, and disk drives, as well as several different test and support programs. Unfortunately, the only type of host controller currently supported is UHCI (full-speed controllers made by Intel and Via Technologies). Support for additional host controllers (OHCI, EHCI, WHCI, XHCI) and devices will be added in the future.

THIS downloads a zip file containing the source code for all of the programs in DOS USB driver package above. Most of the programs are written in Assembly Language, but some are written in C++.

Quote:

This is a DOS USB driver package. There are several programs here thatwill allow you to use USB keyboards, mice, joysticks, printers, and diskdrives in DOS. These programs work VERY differently than any of the DOSUSB drivers you have seen before, and will allow you to use USB devicesin ways you probably never even imagined possible until now.

These programs do have some limitations, however. The main limitationis that the only USB Host Controller protocol included here is UHCI(Universal Host Controller Interface). This means that these programswill currently only work with USB host controllers manufactured by IntelCorporation or Via Technologies, and will only operate a full-speed(maximum 12 Mbps). One of the included programs (USBHOSTS.COM) willtell you what kind(s) of USB host controller(s) you have if you don'talready know. In the future, support for other protocols (OHCI) andfaster speeds (EHCI, WHCI, XHCI) will be added, as will support forother types of devices.

These programs are still under development (alpha/beta), and thereforedo not include complete documentation. The attached USBINTRO.DOC filecontains basic documentation for all of the programs, and you shouldread it before attempting to use any of the programs. It explainseverything you should need to know to be able to start using theprograms, including the licensing arrangements.

You can also go to my web site (http://bretjohnson.us) and download thesource code for all of the programs if you want. The source code is notincluded here since I know most people will not be interested in itanyway, and it takes up a lot of space (makes the download take a lotlonger and takes up a lot of room on your hard drive).

If anybody is interested in helping me out with the progression of thisDOS USB project, I will gladly accept volunteers. There are LOTS ofthings that still need to be done, including testing, documentation,program additions and upgrades, etc. You don't necessarily need to be aprogrammer to help out, either. In fact, NOT being a programmer or evena "power user" is a tremendous asset for certain things, especiallywriting documentation.

I keep getting the "memory management" screen with the options 0-6 and hardly any of the tools run for UBCD 4.1.1.

I have tried various options (0 through 6) -- but most of the tools do not run properly. When option 0 is selected, I get the PANIC, MCB chain corrupted. I've been searching the forum and came across this post.

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